Traces
by vaerin
Summary: Naruto is trying to put her past with Sasuke behind her, but there are certain things that cannot be erased. Neji doesn't care anyway. Neji/FemaleNaruto


Naruto didn't know what she was doing with her life. What happened to her dream of becoming the greatest ninja ever, becoming the Hokage? How could she be so messed up? She was swept up in a whirlwind of problems which came one after another, making her lose track of her original goal.

Rain splattered onto the pavement around her as she trudged along the muddy path of Konoha's streets.. Sasuke's betrayal... of the village and of her all within one night of events... was all too much. And besides, there was an even larger problem at hand. Naruto knelt down, clutching at her abdomen in rage. She screamed, with pent up frustration she was dying to release.

.

.

.

.  
Neji didn't know why he was so taken with her. Her beautiful blonde hair, her bright blue eyes, her smile... He was totally captivated. He couldn't take his eyes away from her ever since she defeated him in the Chuunin exams and freed him from the cage that he had locked himself in. There was no way he could stand seeing her like this.

And so he made a proposal to take care of her for life, until the day she decides that she doesn't need him anymore. But he doesn't care; he loves her, and although he understands that the feeling isn't mutual, he doesn't care. It was all for her sake. He wasn't even sure whether she would accept his proposal.

Neji knew of her situation. And on the day Naruto got her heart broken, he asked her to marry him.

"Let me take care of you."

To his surprise, she agreed.

.

.

.

.  
Naruto wanted to forget, and Neji was the most convenient thing that came along. He didn't care that she didn't love him. Naruto knew she was selfish, but she didn't care.

Neji stood, bending down to face her, with a hand outstretched. And Naruto took that hand gratefully.

Naruto didn't care. It wasn't just for her sake alone.

She expected repercussions to occur... But not so soon. For now... She only needed to forget

.

.

.

.

Indeed, Naruto's troubles were quickly forgotten when Hyuuga Keiichi was born. He was simply adorable, with tufts of jet black hair, pale skin and bright blue eyes just like Naruto's. Naruto and Neji simply adored him.

Keiichi learnt fast even at a young age in the academy. It was unsurprising for those around him; people attributed his growth to Neji's brilliance in his younger days. Keiichi was good, nothing short of his instructors' expectations but not exceeding them too, being the genius Hyuuga's son. However, unlike Neji, Keiichi appeared much happier in his academy days and was more willing to make friends. He also loves the occasional prank or two.

Being a part of the Hyuuga clan wasn't easy for him though, due to the pressurizing high expectations piled onto him. Keiichi was expected to perform much better than he did, but he had no complaints.

His biggest frustration was being unable to activate the Byakugan even after he was promoted to Genin, despite all his cousins being able to do so. Sure, he had excellent basics in all other aspects of ninjutsu and taijutsu, but the fact that he was one step behind the rest of his fellow clan members in awakening his bloodline limit had to mean something. Furthermore, all the taijutsu he learnt within the Hyuuga clan would be rather useless unless he could activate the Byakugan. Was he simply that bad? It was something he hated, and he could not stand his cousins' ridicules after every spar they have when training within the clan's grounds.

"You think you can defeat me Keiichi-nii san? You're still far away from me, you don't even have the Byakugan!"

And he hated that talk started to spread that despite all the hype he got during his academy days, he wasn't that good after all.

"Okaa-san. Why can't I activate my bloodline?"

Naruto wasn't sure how to answer him.

Even with the abundance of love from his parents, the insecurity within Keiichi's heart had never stopped growing.

.

.

.

.  
Keiichi had lost count of the number of missions he had went on together with his team before he finally activated his bloodline. He could feel it, the additional power attained, and how he could actually see the enemy. It was a sudden rush of chakra to his eyes, after he panicked when his teammate Kiyo got struck down. Keiichi rushed to protect him as he saw the enemy ninja raising his weapon ready to make a second strike.

And then... He could see him. He could see the enemy ninja's movements clearly, right down to the slightest detail. He could almost predict the next move.

This is it...!

Keiichi willed his already worn down body to move, and directed the enemy's attack away from Kiyo with a thrown kunai. He crouched down, as his exhausted legs could no longer support his weight, as the enemy prepared for another strike. Fearing the inevitable, Keiichi clenched his eyes shut, with arms outstretched covering Kiyo.

"Sorry I'm late!"

Keiichi opened his eyes to see his sensei, Kiba, crouched in a fighting stance in front of him, with a ferocious grin plastered on his face.

"You did well there. Leave the rest to me."

.

.

.

.  
It was a peaceful walk back to the village after completing their mission, but Keiichi could no longer contain his excitement.

"Kiba-sensei!"

"Hm?"

"I did it! It was that fight! I activated the Byakugan!" Keiichi blurted excitedly.

"Really?" Kiba raised an eyebrow. That explained his fast reflexes during that fight. Needless to say, Kiba was proud of him.

"Here, here! Let me show you!"

Keiichi closed his eyes, concentrated and channeled his chakra carefully. Opening his eyes, he relieved the feel of activating his bloodline limit again, just like in that fight. Everything just seemed so clear to him.

"Hey, hey, Kiba-sensei, what do you think?" Keiichi beamed.

Being appalled was an understatement when Kiba found himself staring into Keiichi's pair of blood red eyes. A Sharingan that consists of two tomoe.

The pair of eyes that were more than enough evidence to explain what happened between Sasuke and Naruto.


End file.
